State renews Usibelli coal permit near Healy and raises cleanup bond to $7.7 million

The Alaska Division of Mining, Land and Water on Thursday renewed Usibelli Coal Mine's permit for the Two Bull Ridge Mine near Healy for another five years and raised the mine's reclamation bond about 42%, to $7.7 million.

The bond guarantees the land gets restored if the company does not do the work. It had stood at about $5.4 million, so the new amount is about $2.3 million higher. The division found the higher amount sufficient to cover Usibelli's present obligations under the permit, according to the final findings and decision signed by Mining Section Chief Stephen Buckley.

When Usibelli's request first came up for review, preliminary findings issued in August said only that the bond would be revised, as Alaska News reported Aug. 15. No one commented during the public notice period, which ran from Aug. 14 to Oct. 5.

The renewal adds no new mining areas and changes neither the boundaries nor the operation and reclamation plan. The mine covers 2,522 acres about five miles northeast of Healy in the Lignite (Hoseanna) Creek valley, in the Denali Borough, on state and Mental Health Trust land. Its coal goes to Golden Valley Electric Association's Healy 1 and 2 power plants or by rail to other Interior plants.

The current pits are nearing completion, according to the findings. Once they are mined out, the permit shifts into reclamation status unless Usibelli chooses to mine other approved ground inside the boundary. Parts of the site are already in bond release, the process of freeing reclaimed land from the bond: 58.6 acres in Phase I, 41.9 in Phase II and 32.2 in Phase III.

The state first issued the permit in 1997, and this is its sixth renewal. The current term was set to end Oct. 4. Usibelli filed for renewal April 6, more than 120 days before that date, which let the company keep mining while the state reviewed the request.

Usibelli, or anyone whose interest is or may be adversely affected, can still request a hearing. Written requests must reach the Alaska Department of Natural Resources commissioner by Nov. 16.